Garrett Crouch

A Glimpse Into Day-To-Day Dartmouth Life

In retrospect, It's bizarre to think this time last year I was stressing about college life and what it all entailed. Some of the rampant dialogue traversing my subconscious: Will I be able to make new friends? What's the workload really like? How prevalent is the feeling of being homesick? Where am I going to end up? 

I heard it hundreds of times: it's normal! It's normal to feel anxious or unsure. But we all know that doesn't make it any easier, experiencing this type of internal conflict first-hand is incredibly jarring. So, as I'm here now, at Dartmouth, I want to take some time and explain how my questions and anxious thought patterns were definitely valid, but in no way necessary; college life is definitely a change, but nothing you should feel the need to worry about!

To all the prospective students, guidance counselors, peers, family members, and the like, I want to walk you through a day in the life of a Dartmouth student. I want to give you a glimpse of some of the things I'm doing, some of the courses I'm taking, and some of the people I'm meeting, all in hopes of potentially providing a bit of extra perspective as well as calming some potential nerves along the way! ( :

To start, here are the classes I'm taking this fall! 

Fall Courses:

Latin 1:

This is an introductory Latin course that emphasizes language structure, speaking strategies, and the history and culture of Roman Egypt and Pompeii. At Dartmouth, every student fulfills a language requirement—In high school I took Spanish, so I wanted to try something new! So far, it's been awesome. It's really fast-paced, but the learning environment is super collaborative and encouraging which is something Dartmouth is really big on.

Math 1: 

This course is also an introductory course. In this case, I'm learning calculus. Right now, It's quite challenging simply because I'm not too interested in Math. I don't see myself studying it in depth, so I'm mainly taking it to familiarize myself with some basic concepts that are prevalent in some of the later courses I'm interested in. The learning environment is also super collaborative though, so it's been a high-quality experience overall.

Earth Science 14: 

In this course, I'm studying the science behind Earth's atmosphere (meteorology), and it's by far my favorite course this term! My professor is super passionate about all the presented topics and our labs are also really fascinating. Go ahead and ask me why the sky is blue, I'll be able to talk for hours.

This is the building that houses my Earth Science course! It's my favorite building on campus

Now you've probably noticed I'm only taking three courses, this is normal at Dartmouth! At Dartmouth, our academic timeline runs on a quarter system as opposed to the more traditional semester system. This means the college is open year-round and we have four available terms to take classes, each lasting about 10 weeks. Undergraduate students take a total of 12 terms throughout their four years at Dartmouth and the only strict requirement is for first and final-year students—both first and final-year students are required to be on campus for the fall, winter, and spring terms. The idea behind the quarter system is that while other schools are conformed to strict semester-based timelines, we're able to essentially create our own schedules and plan out pre-professional opportunities at times when most students aren't able to. The ten-week term moves incredibly fast, so taking three courses is considered a full course load.

After introducing you to my classes and the quarter system, I want to highlight an average day for me (so far)!

Daily Routine:

On weekdays, I wake up, grab breakfast, and I'm off to class—My first class of the day is only about a minute's walk from my dorm which is awesome. On top of that, I usually only have class three days a week, which makes learning infinitely more enjoyable relative to my high school schedule. On days when I don't have class, I usually catch up on work, hang out with friends, or simply relax in my dorm!

This is a picture of my dorm room! I have two roommates and they share the room next door...I lucked out with the the random number generator ; )

Here is a picture of my workstation! Most people enjoy studying in the library, but I like to take advantage of my dorm

Closing thoughts:

College life is definitely different, you're on your own for the first time, you're surrounded by all new kinds of people, and you're taking classes taught by complete experts and scientists; however, thinking back to my high school angst, I also want to stress that college is a blast, an utterly liberating one at that. Don't feel the need to have everything figured out or know what life is going to be like at the next step, instead be present and realize almost nothing is ever as terrifying as it seems. As I've met professors, sunk into my academics, and embraced college life here at Dartmouth, I've realized my previous concerns were completely out of reach. If you're ever unsure or anxious about college life or your next step in general, focus on what you can directly control! You'd be surprised at how powerful implementing that one simple tactic can be, it surely has been for me.

I hope you enjoyed this week's content, and If you're a prospective student, I hope you feel at least slightly less anxious about college life in one form or another. Stay tuned for many posts to come, I can't wait to share more! As always,

Your friend, 

Garrett